Free Help Wanted by Barbara Valentin

her briefcase in her hand as she marched the length of a muddy trench while her boys sat in the foxhole playing video games and texting their friends.
    Returning the documents to the manila folder, Dianne handed it back to Claire with a smile. "Think you could manage two columns a week? Five hundred to seven hundred and fifty words a piece. Flat rate for each submission?"
    Feeling as if she had just been thrust into suspended animation, Claire forced herself to don a contemplative expression.
    Think, think, think…
    She wasn't ready. She hadn't thought this through.
    "Uh, well, that depends," she started.
    A crease appeared between Dianne's perfectly shaped eyebrows, and Claire asked, "What's the rate?"
    "Two-fifty per submission, to start."
    Claire narrowed her eyes.
    Crap. Paul was right about the pay. And no benefits.
    Not only was she clueless as to the going rate for freelance journalists, as much as she hated to admit it, she didn't have Paul's calculator-like brain. She suddenly wished he was there with her.
    Let's see. My old salary divided by fifty-two, divided by forty…
    A wave of guilt started to wash over her, but she pushed it back by blurting, "Make it three hundred per submission, and we have a deal."
    Again, Dianne opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, Claire added, "And I have one condition."
    The editor raised both eyebrows so high they became invisible under her trendy, short-cropped bangs. "A condition?"
    Claire nodded once. "My name can't be attached to it. At all."
    "And why's that?"
    Ready with an argument that readers would be drawn more to an anonymous figure than an actual person, she was taken aback when the editor asked with a wary expression, "Say, you're not a fugitive, are you?"
    Letting out a hearty laugh, Claire leaned forward and started explaining. "No, but here's the thing…" 
    When she had finished the story about Paul's resistance to her taking a freelance position coupled with her desire to build their nest egg back up again as a surprise for him, Dianne held her manicured hand to her chest.
    "How romantic. No really. That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard. I mean, it's not diamonds and roses, but still."
    She glanced at a text she had just received and then looked back at Claire.
    "Ok. I'm in. I've got your back."
    Relieved, Claire nodded. "Thanks."
    "Think you can have your first piece to me by next Monday? I'd like to get the format back to what it had been before Mattie started training. Advice, anecdotes, recipes. In the meantime, she'll wrap up her marathon training assignment and can segue over to Metro."
    A grateful smile cracked across Claire's face for the first time in a very long time. She tried not to gush but couldn't hold it back. "Really? Sure. I mean, yes, I can get my first column to you by next Monday. Absolutely."
    Returning her smile, Dianne instructed, "Good. Now, in that first one, I'd like you to introduce yourself to your readers. You don't have to use your name. Just try to use the same voice I heard in the responses you sent to Mattie. Make sure you send it to me first so I can give it the go-ahead. After that, you're on your own, but you won't be wanting for topics. You'll get plenty of inspiration from your readers."
    At this, Claire's eyes started to gloss over.
    My readers.
    Already, she was feeling so much better than she ever did at her former six-figure job.
    Claire just had one more question.
    "Shoot, sweetie."
    Her eyes wide with excitement, she asked, "Is Mattie here? Could I meet her?"
    "Of course. She should be in by now. Let me check." She picked up her cell phone and punched a text message. When it bleeped back a response, she looked at Claire and said, "She's on her way."
    While they waited, Dianne explained that she'd have her administrative assistant email the contract and direct deposit form to Claire.
    Before long, a young woman burst through the door wearing a pretty red floral-print dress. Her long curly hair